I prefer what you already have. It's a lot of work for "trendy". Perhaps you could do add trend with light fixtures or decor. things that in the long run are easier to swap as trends come and go.

First of all, it's so nice to see someone who is not painting their wood cabinets! I understand that you want to re-stain them, but they do look nice as is.

Regarding the stains, the dark walnut looks so much darker in the first photo than the second--in the second it looks almost just like the existing cabinets.

Also, is the sample stain on the same wood as the cabinets? Different woods take stain differently, so you may want to try it on a small part of your cabinets, so as not to be unpleasantly surprised.

Do you have an inspiration photo of the look you're going for? That may help you determine which color stain you prefer.

your cabinets are very handsome, in my opinion

so I'd go with lighter color-to keep them as close to what they're currently are as possible

which brings me to dark walnut